Lawmakers should balance ease of voting with security from fraud

Published December 15, 2005

As South Carolina lawmakers consider a wide range of election-related legislation next year, they should do what they can to make voting easier for citizens while ensuring the security of the state's elections from fraud.

Several bills regarding voting have already been pre-filed in the General Assembly. One package was developed by a coalition of groups including the South Carolina Progressive Network Coalition, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters and the South Carolina Voter Education Project.

Many of their ideas should be adopted, particularly early voting.

Each county should be allowed to set up one or more polling place for early voting. Allowing citizens to vote several days or even two weeks before an election could reduce the demand for absentee ballots and crowds on Election Day.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, who is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate, points to low voter turnout in the state as proof of the need to improve the voting system. Leventis says the state needs to make voting easier and less time-consuming to draw greater numbers to the polls.

But another key provision of the legislation is problematic. One bill would allow voter registration up to 5 p.m. on the Saturday before the election. But such a deadline would not allow the state to print and deliver voter rolls to the counties before the election.

Lawmakers will have to work with the State Election Commission to tune the bills so that their provisions are practical.

Another proposal, to allow voter registration through Election Day, is not only impractical but would raise concerns about election fraud.

State and local officials need time to make sure that those who have registered to vote should be on the rolls in the districts in which they have registered. At some point in time, all polling places can be connected to a statewide voter database that

can be consulted and updated at all times. Then voter registration can be instant and secure. But it will take a great deal of money to create such a system.

Lawmakers should do as much as they can

to make voting easier but without sacrificing sec-urity and the state's ability to guarantee fair elections.

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